


On My Way (To You)

by MakerOfAnarchy



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Community: kbl-reversebang, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-04
Updated: 2014-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-10 18:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2036112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakerOfAnarchy/pseuds/MakerOfAnarchy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine pines after Kurt Hummel for an entire year before fate steps in and gives him just the nudge he needed.  (Written for the 2014 Kurt/Blaine Reversebang.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Find Mardy's art [here!](http://missmardybum.tumblr.com/post/93798045621/klaine-reversebang-2014-this-fanart-is) Title from On My Way by Lea Michele.

For all of his excitement but a day ago, Blaine is certainly not prepared for the way his stomach cramps in anxiety when he wakes up on his first day of college. As soon as he wakes up, college is the only thing he can think about. Maybe it’s the unfamiliar room he wakes up in or the unmistakable feeling of another presence in the room, or maybe, just _maybe_ , it’s because Blaine’s actually nervous. He is more nervous than he lets on, more than he’ll let anyone see, but he’s going to approach college just like every other obstacle in his life -- head first and without regrets.

He has to take a shower, get his books ready, _eat_ something, find his way to his first class – if he has any hope of surviving this first day, he will do it all in that order.

Beside him in his tiny dorm room, his roommate, Jake, snores soundly, bundled up in his covers and obviously not as worried as Blaine. He’s a freshman like Blaine, but the night before, he’d told Blaine that none of his classes fell on a Monday this year.

Though his stomach doesn’t settle even after he eats breakfast, Blaine pulls it together and makes his way to his first class, music playing in his ears.

The class doesn’t start for another fifteen minutes, but there are already people inside, chatting with their friends and mulling over books. A lot of them seem to be freshmen like Blaine, which makes sense, because it’s a Gen Ed class, but it gives Blaine hope.

If everyone is as clueless as he is, it shouldn’t be hard to make friends.

Blaine takes a seat in the middle of the classroom, off to the left, so the professor doesn’t look up and see him every time but close enough that he’ll be able to engage. He has a book in his bag that he takes out and tries to focus on, aware of all the other students wandering around him.

The seats around him fill up easily as it gets closer to the official start of the class. Blaine smiles at those who offer him one, closing his book when the professor walks in even though he still doesn't start the lecture yet.

\--

Three weeks in and everyone has silently agreed that the unofficial seating chart is not to be changed. Blaine has a friend in the class, Michael, a nice guy with large glasses and bushy red hair and a sense of humor that reminds him of Sam’s.

There’s other people he talks to, but over the course of the first month, Blaine finds his eyes inexplicably drawn to one in particular.

Michael teases him about it every time they hang out, “Come on man, it’s practically written on your face.”

Blaine scoffs and ducks his head, denying it every time, “He’s not only out of my league but also probably taken.”

_Kurt_ is the distractingly gorgeous guy who sits in front of Blaine every Monday and Wednesday in Lit 01. Blaine’s most acquainted with the back of his head (has spent quite the amount of time staring longingly at it, hoping for Kurt to turn around and say something to him, only to be disappointed day after day), but he’s got a good idea of what his face looks like -- and the hard jawline, pouty mouth, and luminous eyes are enough to have Blaine hooked.

Every once in a while, Kurt acknowledges his existence with a smile that Blaine can barely pull it together to return, but that’s the extent of their encounters.

Blaine doesn’t know how to engage him and he’s not quite ready to embarrass himself yet.

\--

It’s Wednesday, and Blaine is basically dead on his feet, not for the first time cursing the early slot of the class. He leans against the wall outside the door, clutching his bag and sipping his coffee, the heavy taste doing nothing to wake him up.

Students have been walking in and out for about ten minutes now, half of them looking just as dead on their feet as Blaine and the other half looking far too spectacular to be awake at the time.

He finishes his coffee and looks up, ready to head in, only to make eye contact with the one that he’s been pining over for six weeks. “Hi, Blaine.”

Honestly, Blaine is surprised that Kurt knows his name. He shouldn’t be, the class is familiar enough with each other by now, but it still startles him into stuttering for a moment. He looks away, standing up straight before smiling as widely as he can without looking stupid, “Hi!”

“I love your bowtie,” Kurt says, drinking his own coffee, and Blaine preens. Kurt is among the half of the class that looks far too good for the hour, not a hair out of place. Blaine gears up to say something else, planning to compliment Kurt’s checkered neckerchief in return and hopefully keep him around and talking to Blaine, just as a girl comes barrelling up to Kurt, wrapping her arm around his.

Blaine blinks and barely gets out, “Hello,” as Kurt hisses at the hot coffee that splashes onto his hand, already glaring at his friend.

She pays no attention to Blaine or the spill she’s caused, a whirlwind of energy, “It’s time for class! I refuse to fail a General Education course!”

Kurt grumbles, “We’re _not_ going to be late,” going along with his friend tugging on his hand nevertheless, but still makes time to turn over his shoulder and smile at Blaine.

Blaine returns it, feeling like he had just missed his chance and desperately he hadn’t.

Michael’s arm slings around his shoulder, guiding him into the classroom, tsking and shaking his head. “You blew it, man.”

\--

Time continues to go by just like it always has -- a second, a minute, an hour at a time. He never makes a move. Winter break comes, and Blaine has to endure a month back home making nice with the family all while knowing Kurt _might_ not be in any of his classes come the next semester. Lit 01 changes to Lit 02 and Blaine’s affections for Kurt come back full force when he walks into class the first day in February to see Kurt smiling and talking on the phone. He spares Blaine a smile as he takes the seat behind him, and Blaine wonders if this semester will be the semester he says something.

Kurt is always busy, always walking with someone or studying in groups, and this discourages Blaine when he thinks about the possible rejection and the embarrassment that’d come with it. Blaine just isn’t brave enough and had Kurt not taken the next course with him Blaine knew he’d probably just hold onto his crush anyways. And Blaine too is busy. College is worlds away from highschool and Blaine has yet to develop a groove. The work isn’t difficult _always_ but studying of his own accord is something he’s yet to master, and his social life suffers for it.

That’s not to say they don’t ever _talk_. They just don’t talk in a way that will ever lead to anything -- always idle chatter to pass the time about their class or the weather or campus gossip. A usual conversation they have is on the way to their shared class and goes like this:

“How do you feel about the newest assignment? I hate analyses.” Blaine would wrinkle his nose in disgust as he held the door open for Kurt and wonder if he could get away with walking any slower.

Kurt would respond in kind and throw Blaine for another loop, “Ah, but it’s about _Broadway_. And _West End_. I can’t imagine pumping out anything less than fifteen pages on this.”

It is always easy conversation, and Blaine cherishes the way their shoulders would brush as they walked without hurry.

They would arrive and Kurt would always smile at him as he’d take his seat in front of him, and Blaine wonders every time if their little seating situation -- where Blaine sits just behind Kurt in a General Education Literature course while he longs from a short yet gaping distance -- Blaine wonders if it matters as much to Kurt as it does Blaine.

And so their chats are always benign and meaningless; but still, in those small amounts of time, he finds that Kurt is so much more than what he may seem -- he’s complex, beautifully complex and completely unlike anyone Blaine has never encountered before.

\--

The year pitches steadily towards it’s end, and suddenly it’s the week before summer break, and Blaine is officially done with freshman year of college. For a few months, there’s not much he has to worry about besides getting to work on time and furthering his internship chances.

Most people don’t know what they want to do from the very, very beginning. At least, not like Blaine. He feels like music has been a part of him since he came out of his mother’s womb crying -- Blaine thinks he maybe had a song in his heart even then.

There’s just so much to do and say with music. You can tell a story or change people’s minds or make them smile or make them cry. Music has gotten him through the rough and the tough, and he’s not going to abandon it now.

He doesn’t actually have any internships yet, but he plans on applying and getting at least a foot in the door. He doesn’t know _what_ he’s going to do with it, just that it’s going to be a part of his life one way or another.

Michael sits on his bed, texting his girlfriend, as Blaine packs up stray stuff in his dorm. It’s really not surprising Michael became his best friend throughout the year. He still keeps in touch with Sam and Tina and anyone else from Ohio who might want to talk to him, but Michael has been there for him all year.

Blaine throws a pillow at him because he’s lying on top of the clothes he needs to pack. “I know Katy is just _splendid_ and most definitely worth every iota of your time, but move.” Blaine hits him again, grinning when Michael looks up and blushes before rolling over the slightest bit. Blaine grabs the clothes and continues packing, humming to himself. Blaine is swivelling his hips and nodding his head to the song only he knows when Michael throws a pillow at him.

“My dancing is not so terrible you need to maim me,” Blaine grins, tossing it back. “What do you want? Did Katy say something?”

“You want to go to a party?”

“Um…”

“Kurt will be there.”

\--

It’s a house party that fits all the stereotypes from the movies, drunk kids in the lawn, on the roof, hanging from trees. It's loud, echoing all down the street, and Blaine can only imagine the disgruntled older folks on the block.

Blaine straightens his bowtie and follows Michael into the house. They get in easily, the door unlocked and its handle sticky. Michael starts looking for Katy, and Blaine -- well, he's got eyes for only one.

He's decided that tonight's the night. Something is going to happen with him and Kurt whether it's a chaste kiss or a night full of heavy conversation -- Blaine just craves his presence, the only thing that will soothe the ache in his chest that somehow developed that longer he knew Kurt but not in the way he really wanted.

Kurt and Katy sit on a sofa both sipping from cups, chatting with each other. Rachel Berry practically has herself in Kurt’s lap, but she's asleep on his shoulder, and Kurt barely even seems to notice any of it. Katy says something, and Kurt throws his head back, flushed neck elongation and bobbing with his apparent joy, and Blaine stops, mesmerized. Kurt is ethereal in a way that is completely human -- Blaine wants to run his fingers over Kurt's jaw and study everything about him from as close as Kurt will allow.

Katy lights up when she sees Michael, and Blaine thinks it doesn't get cuter than the way she tosses herself at him. Kurt stands up, almost dumping Rachel off of him as he makes his way over. He and Michael bump fists before he turns to Blaine, smiling with his entire body, "Hi, Blaine." His eyelashes flutter coyly, and Blaine's tongue grows thick.

He wonders if he'll make it through the night if Kurt keeps looking at him like that.

"Kurt...hi, you look nice. " And Blaine doesn't know whether to hug him or fist bump him until Kurt makes the decision, wrapping his arms around his neck and squeezing tight for the barest of moments. Blaine startles before he wraps his arms around Kurt's waist and sinks into it. There's a slight undercurrent of alcohol to Kurt's breath but it's nothing alarming, nothing that would stop Blaine from enjoying the close press of their bodies.

Kurt pulls back and rocks back and forth slightly, shimmying his shoulders to the music and grinning freely. "How are you!" he yells over the music. 

Blaine doesn’t get the chance to respond right away because Michael slings an arm around his shoulder and shouts into his ear, "Katy and I are going outside! My phone's on vibrate, so holler if you need me!" Blaine winces and jerks away from the loud noise in his ear, and Michael grins, offering his fist to bump and a _good luck_ Blaine is sure Kurt heard.

Blaine looks at Kurt and blushes, shrugging like he has no idea. Kurt just smiles and nods his head back towards the couch where Rachel is still sprawled out. Kurt sits, and Blaine follows, conscious of how close. He doesn’t want to be so close they're touching but not so far it's awkward. Blaine settles on a safe distance in the middle and presses his thighs close together.

Kurt leans over and offers his cup, "Want some? It's really good, cherry soda with rum!"

Blaine is vaguely aware that it's illegal for him to drink and probably not the brightest idea but he takes the cup anyways, not daring to think about how Kurt’s lips might have been where his are.

"It _is_ good," and that’s as much of an ice breaker as they need. Casual hand touches and boisterous laughter twine through their conversation, both of their eyes sparkling and their cheeks tinged pink.

Blaine couldn't stop staring at Kurt if he tried. Once they get talking, it's like watching a flower bloom in a time lapse, petals spreading out and moving with the wind. He stays leaned against the couch for the first half of their conversation, but still his mirth feels covers Blaine like a blanket, his dry humor and interesting insight leaving Blaine feeling like Kurt is exactly what he needs and always has been.

At some point, Kurt leaned closer and just never left, both of their arms up on the back of the couch. Their faces are almost too close like this, making it even harder for Blaine to resist the temptation to touch Kurt until he's explored his every inch of him. He has to curl his hand into his face tight to resist.

Until Kurt stops talking, eyes Blaine very carefully and gives him permission to stop holding back. "You know... you can touch me… if you want." And smiles bashfully, averting his eyes in what Blaine assumes is embarrassment from putting himself out there.

Blaine hesitates briefly before he looks closely into Kurt's eyes and sees the hope and his arm unfolds, fingers grazing Kurt's forearm gently. His hand wraps around Kurt's wrist and twists their fingers together, cupping his face with their linked palms.

Kurt nuzzles into the touch and grins, shifting closer.

Blaine licks his lips, determined not to miss his chance again. "You know, I've wanted to talk to you since the beginning of the year."

Kurt leans closer, so close that it's easy for Blaine to tilt their foreheads together and smell the alcohol on his breath even more clearly. "Why didn't you?" Kurt whispers, the sound barely making it to Blaine over the music.

Blaine shrugs, thumb stroking over Kurt's cheekbone. "Didn't think the feeling was mutual."

"It was," comes out in a sweet rush just before Kurt closes the distance, pressing their mouths together and moaning softly at the first touch of their lips, like he's been waiting so long.

Blaine kisses back and matches his passion because he _understands._

\--

Kurt takes him upstairs to a bedroom he seems perfectly comfortable just walking into, something Blaine hopes he gets to ask about later.

Blaine doesn’t have a chance to take in the room before Kurt is kissing him again and tugging at his bowtie insistently. His own hands wander over Kurt's back, fingers caressing everything they come across reverently and holding him closer.

They get to the point where they're both shirtless with Kurt on top of Blaine and rutting their hips together before Kurt gasps and pulls back, rolling off Blaine. His breaths are heavy, his skin flushed from his face to his navel, and Blaine knows he doesn't look any better.

Kurt lies down next to him and takes his hand, propping up on his elbow and hovering over Blaine, mouth kissed red and blue eyes glistening. "I can't do this."

The grin that'd been on Blaine’s face falls and immediately he wants to question why why _why why_ would Kurt stop what they have with each other before they even had it.The worried expression on Kurt’s face stops him. He bites his tongue and instead he reaches up to stroke Kurt’s cheekbone gently and croaks out, disappointment just barely masked, "Okay."

Kurt darts back down to kiss him with a wide grin on his face, rubbing their noses together before he collapses next to him.

Kurt lifts the covers of the bed and climbs beneath them, pulling Blaine with him and leaning in to kiss him when he pulls the sheets up and over them. Cocooned in a safe space with nothing but each other, they settle in, eyes seeing nothing but darkness but fingers interlocked as they whisper to each other late into the night.

“If you had the chance to live three lifetimes, each with all the memories of the last, would you?”

Blaine thinks about the grief he’s gone through in this lifetime, and how none of it seems to matter now that Kurt is _with_ him.

“Do I get to meet you in all of them?” It comes out teasing, ringing with truth, and Kurt’s laughter at the question has Blaine trying to pull him that much closer.

They don’t touch family or friends, only asking existential questions with undercurrents of ridiculousness to them that they answer without judgment until the music downstairs thumps out and their hearts have long ago synced up. Each of them trying not to fall too far or hard for the other. Both with a nagging sense that maybe it’s too late.

\-- 

The next morning Blaine wakes up and Kurt is gone, no trace of him but a flimsy note that said how wonderful of a time he'd had and how he hoped to do it again.

There's no number which leaves Blaine disappointed, but he figures they’ll see each other on campus with the start of the new year. For now, just knowing he got to hold and touch and talk to such a beautiful person will hold him over for much longer than a few months.

It would have to.

\--

Sophomore year seems a thousand times less daunting than freshman year, yet it doesn’t seem any less enchanting. New York still feels like a beacon of hope and like a present just waiting to be unwrapped. He spent a year in this city and the grime and grease should have put him off but no, New York City is no less breathtaking than it was last year.

Neither is Kurt Hummel.

They see each other around the first few weeks, but they each never get more than a passing smile in. The life of a college student is always busy, and there's been no time for more than a few bashful glances or brushing of shoulders in the hall.

The day Blaine swears to himself that he'll approach Kurt, he doesn't see him at all that day. Which is weird because they always cross paths _at least_ once.

Blaine doesn't think anything of it.

\--

When Blaine doesn’t see Kurt around for five weeks straight, he begins to lose hope. He’s casually brought it up to Michael a few times but Michael’s never had any information. Blaine feels an ache in his chest every time he thinks about the night they spent together. Despite how truly innocent it was, Blaine still holds it close to him.

Blaine has no way to contact him and no idea who he hangs around (except for Rachel Berry, but she too has been absent), and even if he did, he would never approach for fear of coming off as weird or arrogant. What if Kurt’s never even mentioned him?

As the weeks go by, outwardly, Blaine is fine. After all, why should he let one guy cause him such despair that he can’t function? His classes are more rigorous and his friend group expanded to include some music majors and not just Michael. He goes to more parties, trying to dispel the hope that Kurt might be there and ignoring the disappointment every time he’s not.

But still, he thinks about Kurt, and the way Kurt felt beneath his hands and the soft way Kurt looked at him. The passion with which Kurt kissed him and the eagerness that was represented by their breathless giggles into each other’s mouths. The honesty with which he’d answered Blaine’s questions and the genuine curiosity he’d used to ask Blaine some of his own.

Kurt had in one night ruined him for anyone else that might come along and Blaine can’t complain because he’s been smitten from day one and it wasn’t just because he could stare at him every week. He’s been smitten because Kurt felt like everything he wanted wrapped up into everything he needed.

Blaine just wants him back, and he wants to stop going through everyday with such crushing disappointment every time he’s not.

\--

With that in mind, with how much he knows he _needs_ to get over Kurt always lingering, along with _maybe a change of scenery will help_ \-- those things combined give him reason alone to seriously consider his professor’s offer.

He’d been lounging around his apartment the day he’d received the email, doing light cleaning and enjoying his time alone from his two roommates. His second semester is almost over now, finals coming up in two or so weeks, but he’s designated this time for himself. His phone chimes, and when he picks it up, he’s surprised to see an email from his favorite professor, Dr. Kaehn, his Applied Music professor.

_Blaine,_

_Every year the Arts Department of NYU gathers together and discusses their finest students and their abilities. Of course, we Professors do this in passing and without thought, but at this particular meeting we sit down and outline the most promising strengths and weaknesses of students of notice._

_We do this because for ten years NYU has been collaborating with École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, better known as ENSAD, one of the most prestigious Arts and Design schools in Paris, and debatably, the world. Every year, we exchange ten or so students from college to college so our students can get a taste of the different environments and opportunities. It is an overseas study program, but being there still provides students with the credits they need._

_I am telling you this, Blaine, because myself and five other professors all agreed unanimously that we should do our best to get you accepted._

_Nothing is set in stone, but we offer this to you and fourteen other students. Only ten are able to go, and attached is an application (along with more information) that you all will have to fill out to be later evaluated. We all agree that each of you could really benefit from this, but we must do this fairly. Applications must be complete and essays must show determination and willingness to see this program through._

_Application is due two months from this date, and, if you are to be accepted, you will spend the next academic year studying at ENSAD, and I must say, this is not something you want to pass up._

_Regards, Morgan Kaehn_

Blaine sits on his couch reeling for fifteen minutes before it all sinks in. He thinks about how for basically the entire semester New York had been to fast and grimy for him, and all those other factors come back to him. His professors are offering him what seems like an amazing opportunity in _Paris_ all because they see _talent_ in him.

A ten page essay seems like nothing with that backing him.

\--

The waiting is by far the most nerve wracking part of the process, but Blaine has to get used to it since the offer was for the _next_ school year. That leaves an entire summer break that he has to get through, and not to mention his finals before even that. He stumbles through finals by the skin of his teeth and convinces Michael to join a few volunteering projects with him to pass his time.

The dates he goes on are unsuccessful in the sense that they don’t go anywhere but successful in the sense that they help take his mind off things.

And, like Kurt, ENSAD becomes a distant dream, one that seems to become farther and farther out of his reach with each passing day.

When he gets the email saying he was accepted, Blaine cheers and hugs Michael for ten minutes in gratitude. Michael just laughs and congratulates him, but Blaine can’t hear it through his excitement. He feels like he’s floating, because he’s worked for it, and this feels like a _dream._

Blaine is still floating when he steps on the plane and lets it lift him to his future.


	2. Part Two

His heart leaps into his throat when he steps out of the airport and listens to bits and pieces of French and even American conversations. Blaine is lucky his major requires French knowledge, or he would be screwed.

Paris _smells_ different than New York.

It smells like a little bit of everything, but unlike New York, the air smells clean and fresh, not so broken down by the pollution and overcrowding and the dying dreams of the young.

As usual, his heart falls for gentle charms before Blaine even has a chance to blink, or consider that it might be a bad idea.

His dorm that he gets put in is tiny just like the one at NYU, but he has no roommate here. His window over looks over the bottom of the apartments and the streets, and he can see downtown if he squints and risks leaning out a little.

Here there are no screens on the windows, and here, he hasn’t thought about Kurt Hummel for a solid day, and as much as it saddens him, Blaine knows this is where he’s meant to be. He doesn’t know where Kurt is, but Blaine knows his heart is here, and so this is where he’ll stay.

\--

The first day he starts his new semester at ENSAD, Blaine feels like it’s his actual _first day_ again. Except this time, there are fewer butterflies and more confidence that everything is going to be just fine.

Blaine settles in at a similar spot as the seat he sat in for his Lit 01 class at NYU, middle of the room but a little to the left so he can engage but not be chosen constantly. He immerses himself in a book, music in his ears as he waits for the professor to arrive. People settle around him but Blaine doesn’t look up until someone sits directly in front of him, and then he almost faints out of disbelief.

He’d know the back of that head anywhere. He would _have to_ after spending so long staring at the back of it. He reaches out and taps Kurt -- _Kurt_ , he’s here? Blaine doesn’t even understand, but it feels a lot like a second chance -- on the shoulder, and when Kurt turns around, he’s just as effervescent and time-stopping as before.

“ _Blaine_?” Kurt says, and they stare over charged air, Blaine’s hand still gently resting on Kurt’s shoulder and Kurt’s body only halfway turned towards Blaine.

Kurt’s mouth opens as if to reply to a question Blaine never asked, and then the professor slams the door shut and starts going on in half-English, half-French. Kurt jumps with the slam like everyone else and mouths, “ _After_ ,” before turning forward and giving due attention -- leaving Blaine spinning just like always.

\--

When class ends, Kurt is quick to stand up and get out of the room, bag knocking behind him. A girl yells his name in a heavy French accent, and Blaine looks on wearily as she gets up and follows him, clearly a friend. Blaine doesn’t worry that Kurt actually left, because, surely, _surely_ he must feel like life has also given them a second chance, right?

It couldn’t only be Blaine. Things that feel like _this_ , like Blaine has been waiting for it his entire life, are not just one-sided. Blaine squeezes his bag strap tight and hopes that he’s not wrong like he was before.

Kurt proves him right when he steps out of the room and barely has a second to breathe before he’s wrapped up in Kurt’s arms and being kissed like he’s never been kissed before. The fervor builds and builds until Kurt is nipping at his bottom lip and Blaine is _grabbing_ at Kurt’s shoulders for leverage and for some way to remember this is _so_ real.

Kurt pulls back and Blaine blinks his eyes open, his neck tingling where Kurt’s lips are roaming over. Vaguely, Blaine is aware that he has another class in thirty minutes, and they’re still in the _hallway_ of his brand new school, but he doesn’t want to think about anything except for how Kurt is finally in his arms again and how he’ll be damned if he lets him get away one more time.

\--

“Oh _god_ , oh god, oh my god, Blaine, Blaine, I am _so_ sorry,” Kurt starts as soon as they pull away from each other, “I am such an idiot but I am so happy you’re here. I don’t know how or why but you’re actually _here_. And I have been such a mess...I wanted to contact you but I didn’t know your last name or anything and -- “ Blaine kisses him one more time just because he feels like now nothing else will ever stop him from doing that whenever he wants to. Kurt gives an _mmph_ and then kisses back slow and sweet and careful.

\--

They end up at a coffee shop down the street. They talk about how they came to be in Paris, at ENSAD, and they eventually come to the conclusion that they’re both there for the same reason -- Professor recommendations and probably a lot of luck. Kurt explains how he didn’t even know he was accepted until last minute, emails lost in his spam folder, how he didn’t have time to tell anyone before he had to pack and be on a plane. He explains, much more calmly now with a hand wrapped around the small handle of a cappuccino cup and his other laced through Blaine’s, how he wishes he had known how to contact him but he had been clueless because he’d had no last name and nothing to go by.

They talk more and more until the sun goes down and they’ve both missed their afternoon classes and Blaine is still debating exactly which shade of blue Kurt’s eyes are as an excuse to just keep staring. Kurt is confident even without alcohol and assured in a way Blaine never has been and Blaine thinks something -- he doesn’t know _what_ \-- just that _something_ has been so kind to him to put this man in his life and to give him enough chances to finally get it right.

\--

When Kurt leaves him at his dorm with a squeeze on his shoulder and the brightest smile Blaine’s ever seen, he bursts into his room and dials Michael’s number, not caring about expensive rates or even a time difference.

Michael picks up just like Blaine expected him too, and Blaine practically squeals down the line as he talks about his day.

At the end of it, Blaine is so giddy, he’s bouncing on his feet and nothing could curb his happiness, not even Michael’s low, disbelieving, “Damn, second chances really do happen.”

\--

Once they find each other again, there’s nothing stopping them from jumping headfirst into what Blaine is scared to call love and affronted to call anything else.

The way it feels when Kurt holds his hand or rubs their noses together can’t be anything but love, right? The way his stomach drops and how he always has to anchor himself on Kurt’s shoulder when they kiss -- that only happens to those in that quicksand type of love, right?

And quicksand it is. Blaine feels like he’s drowning and drowning and not really looking for any way out because Kurt is right there with him. Ever since they got _together_ , he’s always been there with him, for him.

He debates if it’s love all the way until the evening after many coffee, lunch, and movie dates, which are all filled to the brim with secret smiles and gentle kisses and relearning each other when Kurt is unabashed about pressing him against the door of his dorm and kissing his breath away. He can’t really recall why it comes to him right then but Kurt slots his thigh between the two of Blaine’s and he has to pull back and gasp, and out with that gasp comes, “I love you.”

Kurt stops briefly, the linger of his mouth still ghosting over Blaine’s throat when Kurt kisses his mouth and asks if he has any early classes the next day. Blaine can feel the elated smile against his throat when he says he doesn’t.

It’s sweaty, messy, perhaps too eager and very imperfect but Kurt whispering his own declarations into the sticky column of Blaine’s throat makes it that more special, and Blaine knows this is where he’s meant to be for the rest of his life.

\--

Two years later, they go back to New York.

The reason is not because they are moving back. It was decided after their first year together that they love ENSAD and they love the city and all it means to them too much to ever leave.

They go back for a lot of reasons. Reason one is Kurt has a student exhibit he needs to present his works in that just happened to be in New York a week before the second reason, Blaine's piano recital.

The third reason is tucked away in the deepest crevice of his suitcase in a black velvet box.

It is so fast, and Michael had told him straight up that he was crazy -- crazy for going so fast and crazy for not doing it earlier. Michael is an interesting guy, but Blaine wouldn't want anyone else as his Best Man.

When Kurt says yes.

Blaine _knows_ , knows in his heart that Kurt will say yes. After their brief encounter and then their year long separation, Blaine knows without a doubt that they are meant to be together. And knows that Kurt knows it too.

He has it all planned out. He's going to serenade Kurt in the middle of Central Park. It’s cliche but it’s also exactly what Blaine knows Kurt wants. Kurt loves the cheesy and the romantic and that’s everything Blaine has to offer. It’s supposed to happen the night before they leave to go back, middle of the park with fairy lights and people around them smiling because they’re the cutest they’ve ever seen.

All does not go according to plan.

Kurt’s exhibit goes swell -- he gets glowing reviews from everyone who passes, including his teachers and all of his peers. Blaine’s recital goes just as well, passing the class with flying colors and Kurt at his side.

The day that they have designated as their fall back in love with New York day they wake up and it’s raining.

Of course, this results in the beginning of the day being nothing but rushed sex in their hotel room for round one and slow, sweet lovemaking for round two. They don’t get out of bed and eat breakfast until well after what is surely acceptable, and by then the rain doesn’t stop. Instead of the walk down Broadway they had planned, they opt for a movie and take out back at their hotel.

Blaine tries not to feel too disappointed when the rain doesn’t let up even when the night falls.

And he just has to remember that second chances happen. Until then, the ring sits in his suitcase and travels from city to city with Blaine as he follows Kurt wherever he ends up.

\--

They end up in Paris, France, and that’s where they stay.

When they graduate from ENSAD, they sit down and have a very serious conversation about where they wanted to go from here.

“We can always go back to New York, you know,” Kurt had said, his leg bouncing up and down in a jittery motion and showing Blaine that was the last thing he wanted.

With a kiss, Blaine reassures him, “My home is wherever you are, Kurt. If you want to leave, we will, but I don’t know…” he leans forward and kisses his cheek, “I feel like I belong here.”

Kurt closes his eyes and rests their foreheads together. “I feel like I belong with you.”

After that, it’s relatively easy. Kurt gets a paid internship at Chanel that he practically faints over. Blaine’s music degree gets him a job with the _Orchestre de Paris_ that he’ll have to work his way up from but one that he still enjoys.

Their apartment is small and their life could be considered _simple_ , but Blaine doesn’t think a day with Kurt Hummel could ever be _simple._

Every day, Blaine wakes up just before Kurt in the same bed with his arms around him before he starts breakfast and every day at lunchtime they meet at the coffee shop two blocks down the road from their house after work to eat with each other. There are days when they’re just too tired to do anything and days when they hardly see each other. Days when they spend too much time out with friends and stumble in drunk and the fights happen every week on the dot, but they’re always resolved within hours.

And every day, Blaine falls a bit more and more for the boy from Lit 01 that had the easiest smile he’d ever seen. Blaine falls for the man that takes care of him and lets himself be taken care of by only Blaine, and Blaine falls for the silly boy that begs him to play the piano every chance he gets.

\--

When he finally proposes, a year later after originally planned and with more maturity on his shoulders, it is just as public but not as elaborate as before. Of all the years they’d been in Paris, enjoying the city and discovering all the wonderful things about it -- never once had Kurt been on The Seine.

He doesn’t know what it is about the night that convinces Blaine it’s time. Maybe it’s simply the way Kurt looks in the soft dim of their apartment as he browses the internet for new curtains or maybe it’s the way Kurt looks at _him_ when he looks up to ask Blaine’s opinion, but Blaine stands up and insists that they go out.

“Let’s take a trip,” Blaine says as he checks the time for the cruises and grabs Kurt’s coat and the ring that Blaine still thinks Kurt will love.

“I just _started_ dinner,” Kurt says, exasperated when Blaine slips a coat over his shoulders. Kurt had gotten used to his spontaneity and his impulses, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t annoy him when they happen. Blaine chuckles, kisses his cheek and squeezes his waist while urging him out of the door and promising that they will eat before they come back home.

Their drive is not a quick one, two hours that Kurt spends the majority of questioning Blaine relentlessly on where they were going. Kurt looks puzzled when they finally pull up at a cafe, asking if they were getting coffee and why they couldn’t make that at home, that there was no coffee good enough to take that long of a drive.

Blaine guides him down the streets, ignoring Kurt’s questions and sighing wistfully. “Isn’t this country just beautiful?”

“Yes...it’s gorgeous...Blaine where are we going?” Kurt doesn’t like surprises and in fact often figures them out before Blaine can actually go through with them, but that’s what makes this all the more special. This is spontaneous and there will be no pre-meditation. Kurt will either say yes or no based on what his heart feels then, and Blaine just hopes he doesn’t walk away disappointed tonight.

“Tell me about your day,” Blaine says and drags Kurt closer, hoping to distract him from the direction they’re heading in. He feels Kurt’s strange look but he answers anyways, regaling all the tedious details of the fashion office he works in.

Kurt keeps talking until they stop and Blaine buys him a rose, already beginning to ask questions but Blaine cuts him off with a kiss.

The last couple of steps they take leads them to the edge of The Seine and a boat with people stepping on.

Kurt lets out a sigh and squeezes Blaine’s hand, “Blaine, I _love_ you, but why are we here?”

“I know you’ve never been here,” Blaine leads him onto the boat and urges him to sit before he kisses his forehead. “So now you are. I’ll be right back.”

The ride is peaceful, the lights of the city twinkling around them and bouncing off the dark, calm waters of the river as the sun goes down. Kurt _oohs_ and _ahhs_ like he’s never seen any of it before (because he hasn’t, and Blaine vows to bring such pure joy to Kurt’s face every opportunity he has) and gathers Blaine up into a passionate kiss as soon as they step off.

They end at Pont Neuf, the bridge lit up beautifully with people scattered up and down. They stand there overlooking it all for a moment before Blaine steps back, causing Kurt to automatically look up and inquire. He’s stopped asking questions, but Blaine can see the surprise and the realization flutter over his features when Blaine’s step back leads to him dropping down to one knee.

He holds up the ring box he’s pulled from the pocket and offers it halfway between them shyly.

Kurt begins to say something, eyes watery and grin wide, but Blaine beats him to it.

“You _know_ I believe in fate, Kurt, but I only believe because of us. Nothing about _us_ has been easy besides the way I feel about you. There’s no way I could ever feel that way about anyone except for my soulmate. We lost each other. But we found each other, and that’s not something that happens to anybody. This -- what we have is _so_ special, and I want to make it more, and I just want you to want the same thing as me. Which is a long, _long_ , happy life with you, Kurt Hummel. I promise to do nothing but cherish you and make you feel special for as long as you allow. Kurt, marry me?”

Kurt is nodding before he gets the last three words out, but he chokes out, “ _Yes,_ ” and Blaine launches himself into his arms, already crying when he hears the round of applause around them. It’s smattered, random little claps, and they’re in their heavy coats with thin shirts beneath them and -- it’s not perfect, it could have been grander, but Kurt lets Blaine slip the ring on his finger and that makes it all they need.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoyed! All feedback appreciated, and reblog it [here!](http://blackwhiteriot.tumblr.com/post/93804593203/klaine-fic-on-my-way-to-you)


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